Making health justice happen – step up or step aside

This article is written as an introduction to the side event Wemos organises during the ‘Decolonising Global Health’ symposium on the 24th of November 2022.

Discussions leading to actions

The only valid reason to discuss decolonisation of global health is if it leads to action to address root causes of (health) inequity and injustice, and by doing so leads to health for all. The global health community – NGOs, academia, social movements, trade unions, religious organisations, interest groups, diaspora, media, and cultural organisations – are key in pushing for systemic change in the global health architecture. But before we do, we need to recognize the power dynamics, reflect on our own role in this, and be willing to radically change our way of working.

The need to challenge the status quo

More than half a century after most colonized countries reclaimed their independence, the concept of decolonisation has become mainstream. Academia, civil society, donors, and global health institutions across the globe have embraced the topic in an ever-growing body of publications, webinars, and symposiums. There is general agreement that colonialism has impacted health definitions, health theories and research, health systems and health practices. [1, 2, 3] Some authors have even gone as far as to say that “…public health is an apparatus of coloniality that manages (as a profession) and maintains (as an academic enterprise) global health inequity.” [4]

As the call to action grows, so does the doubt about the intention to act. Thought leaders from the global South have accused the global North of setting and co-opting the decolonisation agenda with no or limited platforms for the global South. Donors speak of wanting to ‘shift power to the South’ and try to do so through community participation or so-called country ownership. But they maintain their rigid reporting requirements and exclusive decision-making processes. And while much of global Northern civil society is doing penance for its ‘white gaze’ and ‘white saviourism’, it is often not challenging the status quo. As Samuel Oji Oti at the recent KIT Power of Knowledge Congress put it: “In the past colonised people were subjugated by guns, now by emails, zoom calls, and grant proposals.” [5]

Three critical questions

Collectively we must do better to make health justice happen. Letting go of power and position is painful and scary. But as many social movements have shown, it is possible to correct power imbalances. So, let us start with asking ourselves three critical questions: 1) what is our added value, 2) what is our relevance, and 3) what is our legitimacy in the global health arena? Is our work improving and adding value to the critical global health issues? Is our work relevant, i.e., useful for or related to issues identified by those who are most affected by health inequity and injustice? Is our work justifiable and defendable, i.e., do we have legitimacy to speak and act on the issue?

For Wemos, the answers to these questions are shaping our future strategy. According to our stakeholder consultation, we have relevant expertise in global health and address the key structural barriers to health equity and justice. But we could be less cautious in speaking out, act faster, and be more willing to risk our own position. We translate complex information to understandable products and messages, and work to open global spaces for others. But we need to ground our propositional global lobby more in country realities and place national organisations at the centre of our work. We use leverage and connections to change existing narratives, processes, and policies. But we could do more to challenge the status quo instead of working within existing systems.

Stepping up or stepping aside

Where you stand depends on where you sit. So be prepared to solicit input from ‘unusual suspects’ to get raw, honest feedback, in anonymised form if needed. Acting on this input is the challenge as difficulties are often in the details. Which and whose ‘country realities’ and ‘narratives’ are we talking about? What changes are needed in our human resources policies and practices? How do we create equal partnerships? How do we – both from global North and global South – hold each other accountable? In other words, how do we make this happen?

Decolonisation is an active, iterative, and continuous process, not just an intellectual exercise. It entails concerted effort by both global Northern as well the global Southern actors across sectors. It means stepping up to a new reality or stepping aside if no longer needed.

References

1. Affun-Adegbulu C, Adegbulu O. Decolonising Global (Public) Health: from Western universalism to Global pluriversalities. BMJ Global Health 2020;5: e002947. doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2020-002947,
2. Khan M, Abimbola S, Aloudat T, et al. Decolonising global health in 2021: a roadmap to move from rhetoric to reform. BMJ Global Health2021;6: e005604. doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2021-005604
3. Büyüm AM, Kenney C, Koris A, et al. Decolonising global health: if not now, when? BMJ Global Health2020; 5:e003394. doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2020-00339
4. Richardson, E. T. (2021). Epidemic illusions: On the coloniality of global public health. The MIT Press.
5. Unpublished consultancy report: Critical Reflection on Relevance, Legitimacy and Added Value of Wemos’ Global Health Advocacy within Changing Global Contexts. Diasmer Panna Bloe commissioned by Wemos; May 2022
6. The Power of Knowledge – KIT Royal Tropical Institute
7. 9 powerful social change movements you need to know about – Amnesty International Australia